Just Because He's Leaving
by xoxfiresignx
Summary: One-shot. Saying goodbye is harder than he expects it to be. Very unconventional pairing.


**A/N - This is a one-shot I wrote for a contest. It's set on the night before the trio leave Hogwarts for good in HBP, after Dumbledore's funeral. It has a rather . . unconventional pairing. If you can figure it out before it's revealed in the end, I will worship you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HP, blah blah blah.**

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**Just Because He's Leaving  
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He crept silently through the castle, his feet making no noise on the cold stone. He had practiced this walk many, many times over the years. It made him practically invisible; he might not have an invisibility cloak or know how to Disillusion himself, but the silence cloaked him as effectively as either of those.

It took him a long time to reach the Astronomy tower, which was off-limits to all Hogwarts students unless they were in an Astronomy lesson. But such rules had never bothered him; he was far above them, laughing at the poor, unfortunate people below.

The tower was deserted when he got there, and for a moment he wondered if he had gotten the date wrong, or if he'd been stood up. But then he heard a slight sigh from somewhere to his left and turned to see her stepping daintily from the shadows.

He almost recoiled at the sight of her and felt immediately guilty. After all, earlier that very day she had asked him to meet her here. If he hadn't wanted to see her, he could have stayed in his common room, curled contentedly in his bed. But something in the way she'd whispered "Meet me in the Astronomy tower at eleven o'clock. _Please_." had tugged on him a little, forcing him to arrange a quick escape from the common room.

She was not beautiful. It was a well-known fact. He often heard students in the hallways mentioning her complete unattractiveness, saying her name in disparaging tones. He shared this view, of course; it was hard not to. But he also saw her in a different light, one that no one else could see.

She was painfully skinny, uncomfortably so. It hurt him to look at her, as though she'd just jabbed a bony elbow into his side. Her dark hair was a mess, tousled and coarse. He shuddered at the thought of touching it, fearing that it might scrape him. All of this counted against her.

But her eyes were the most stunning things he had ever seen. Golden in some lights, amber-brown in others, they shone with an almost angelic glow. Since he had first met her, he had spent countless hours in contemplation of those eyes, imagining them filled with a variety of emotions.

His favourite emotion to visualize was the one she sparkled in his direction as she stepped towards him. Her eyes alight and dancing with pleasure, as though seeing him made her happier than anything in the world. Which it probably did.

"You came," she whispered, a smile gracing her surprisingly delicate features. "I didn't think you would."

He made to move toward her but stopped, confused. "Why on earth would you think I wouldn't come?" He didn't admit that he had seriously considered standing her up. That would just hurt her more than was necessary.

She lowered her eyes, looking out at the starless night that surrounded them. There was a thick blanket of cloud above them, shrouding all the beautiful pinpricks from view. The only lights left were the twinkles in her eyes, which seemed to dim.

"Well, I thought maybe you'd want a clean break," she said, and he was surprised to hear her voice crack. He wanted to run to her and comfort her, but that wasn't what their relationship was like. They were friends; they'd go on walks together through the corridors once everyone else was asleep, he'd help her get knots out of her hair when no one else would, she'd show him all the little nooks and crannies she'd found on her various explorations. They were not romantically involved at all, though sometimes he'd wondered what it would be like if they were. But he always squashed those thoughts before they could form fully, telling himself that he was better off just being friends with the ugly creature. "You know," she continued, breaking into his contemplation. "I thought you'd just want to leave without saying goodbye."

He hopped up onto the railing of the tower's balcony, sitting on it. It was a precarious perch, to be sure, but he had excellent balance. He motioned for her to join him, and waited until she did so before he spoke. Once she had settled herself comfortably beside him, he turned his head to look at her.

"That's why you wanted to meet me here? To say goodbye?" She nodded, avoiding his gaze. He felt saddened by this; he wanted to look more into those beautiful eyes. "How did you know I was leaving?"

"How could I not know?" she scoffed. "Everyone's been talking about it for weeks. Everyone knows that you're leaving and not coming back."

He felt a bit of a swooping feeling in his stomach as he thought abt what lay ahead of him. He was scared of what his future held.

"I don't suppose I could persuade you to stay?" she said, quietly. He looked up at her astonished. Never before had she expressed such a sentiment. He thought about it for a moment. It was tempting; oh so tempting. He could stay. He could run away from his future, from his expectations, from his family . . .

"I'm sorry," he said, and he truly meant it. "I would love to stay here and hang out with you. But you and I are from different worlds." She nodded, her eyes downcast. "And I leave tomorrow." She nodded again, sniffling. He shifted toward her and she leaned against him. He rested his head on top of hers.

Then they jumped at the sound of footsteps, and the creaking, gravelly voice of Filch, the caretaker. "Mrs. Norris?" he called, sounding worried. "Where are you, my sweet?"

She sighed. "I'd better go," she muttered, sadly. He nodded, glumly. Then she raised her eyes to his and he was shocked to see the firey determination in their gorgeous depths. "You are the best friend I'll ever have, Crookshanks." She licked his cheek and he was surprised by how soft her tongue was on his fur. Then she jumped down and ran towards her master.

He sat still for about an hour after she left, thinking of her eyes, his cheek tingling. "You're my best friend, too, Mrs. Norris."

He was halfway back to the Gryffindor common room when he realized that he hadn't said goodbye.

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**A/N - Ha. Bet you didn't see that one coming.**


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